“The Race of Faith!”

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (Heb. 12:1-2 ESV)

A cloud of witnesses is a Greek phrase referring to a multitude of people who had firsthand knowledge of God's faithfulness. Of course, it refers to Chapter 11, where the author listed 17 examples of Old Testament saints who exercised the faith that God had given them to do what He asked them to do. The author listed only 17 examples, but was limited by time; however, there are many more firsthand witnesses to God’s faithfulness. The amazing thing about these witnesses is that none of them received what God had promised them. However, that’s what faith is, isn’t it, trusting that “God is a promise keeper” even though we do not see the actual fulfillment of that promise.

The author continues to tell us not to let our current circumstances and “sin which clings so closely” keep us from running the “Race of Faith”. It’s like when you go for a hike, you don’t pack everything you need for a weekend of camping in your backpack and try to muscle it up the mountain. You “lay aside every weight” that would cause you to become exhausted as you scale the mountain. It makes sense, doesn’t it, and that is what we are told to do with our “Race of Faith”. Many times, we pack all our past failures in our backpack and try to take along all those “sins” that keep us from following Him. We try to run the “Race of Faith”, and we exhaust ourselves, we get discouraged and say, “I can’t live like this anymore”, and unfortunately, many of us live a defeated life.

But what is the exhortation we are given in verse 2, “Look to Jesus”? Jesus is the answer to the problem of carrying “every weight and sin which clings so closely”. We can’t possibly rid ourselves of our past or current sins that “cling” to us. The only way we can ever get free of those sins and the guilt that they cause is to “Look to Jesus”.  We try and try on our own, and our backpack never gets any lighter; we try to tough it out on our own, and all we do is exhaust ourselves. Faith has not been given to us, so that we can try to empty our backpacks on our own. Faith is given to us by God so that we can “Look to Jesus”, after all, He is the “founder” (originator or author) and the perfecter (the one who completes) of our faith, not us.

So, how did this “cloud of witnesses” free themselves of “every weight and sin” that clung to them? They set their eyes on the promises of God, who we now know is Jesus, the one who gave them the faith to be obedient.

Friend, take your eyes off your circumstances, past sins, and current sins and guilt. Quit trying to run the “Race of Faith” with your backpack filled with “stuff”. Use the faith that God has given you, just like He gave to these other witnesses, and trust in the one who is a promise keeper. Look to Jesus and find the freedom that each of our hearts desires.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"